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This Week at Amana / December 2, 2011
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Dear Amana Family Members,
If you have ever participated in debriefing ways to improve a process, you know that "good communication" usually bubbles at the top of the list of most important factors. Improving communication between stakeholders at Amana must be our priority no matter our role. There will always be room for improvement, yet as a community I see we are making important strides toward improving communication.
Every Wednesday morning I sit down with our PIE leadership to discuss upcoming events and how we can support each other. This past Wednesday's meeting was special because we invited all the classroom Crew Parents to attend; and they came up with some great ideas. What we found was that electronic tools such as Home Access, Amana's website, and this newsletter do help people to stay informed; yet face-to-face communication is still very much appreciated.
Please remember to speak with your child's teacher during Friday dismissal, or attend a PIE meeting or a family fun event. For our part, we will continue to strive to be approachable, gain feedback, and to share insights about all the good things happening at Amana Academy. To the extent we strengthen the lines of communication, we will enable a learning community that benefits our children.
Ehab Jaleel
Executive Director
Fun Facts:
269 People read our last newsletter.
315 Parents completed the fall online feedback survey - a new record!
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Key Dates
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12/6 - NHS Induction Ceremony
12/8 - Basketball Tryouts
12/9 - PIE Family Ice Skating
12/11 - Middle School Open House
12/12 - Showcase week starts!
12/17 - Amana Board Public Mtg
Detailed Calendar
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Amana Wins Georgia's First Dissemination Award: For STEM Education
 The Georgia Department of Education wants other schools to learn from Amana Academy. On Wednesday October 12, 2011 the Georgia Board of Education awarded Amana Academy its coveted Dissemination Grant for the school's innovative implementation of STEM Education - Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Amana was the first charter school in Georgia to receive this honor.
According to the Department of Education, "Policymakers and state leaders have long contended that charter schools could drive change and improvement in the larger public school system by serving as models or laboratories of reform. This grant opportunity supports charter schools efforts to form bridges with the larger system; to share best practices and insights; and to transform specific successes and lessons learned into broader reforms." Amana's approach to STEM Education is being recognized because it allows teachers to use the Expeditionary Learning instructional techniques to inspire students in science and math and technical fields by integrating these subjects into meaningful, purpose-driven projects. Not all learning expeditions will feature a STEM project, yet you will get your first glimpse of some of these fantastic projects during Expedition Showcase starting December 12th. As part of the grant, Amana will video tape the making of STEM Expeditions and post the videos to our website as a learning tool for other schools. Amana teachers will also present their techniques at regional and national conferences. The school will also host outside educators for a Regional Learning Institute next August. We thank the Georgia Department of Education for this honor, and we hope to serve other educators as we mutually strive to inspire the next generation of world leaders in innovation, science, technology, and engineering. |
Amana Academy Helps Set World Record
Amana Academy and WSSA STACK UP! Set a new Guinness World Record with 412,259 stackers. 411 stackers were from Amana Academy.
The World Sport Stacking Association is pleased to announce that a brand new Guinness World Record was set on November 17th for "Most People Sport Stacking at Multiple Locations in One Day". The final count for this year's WSSA STACK UP! submitted to Guinness is 412,259 stackers representing 28 countries from around the world, which shattered last year's record of 316,736.
The WSSA wants to thank the teachers and organizers from the 2,000 schools and youth organizations that participated in this annual event. Amana thanks Coach Maria Vaughan for coordinating this event and all the teachers who allowed time in their classrooms to participate. The WSSA STACK UP! takes place every year on Guinness World Records Day and is an opportunity for schools, libraries and youth organizations on every continent to involve their entire communities in a day of sport stacking, fitness and fun. In addition, many also "stack up" for a good cause collecting donations to benefit local charities. At Amana, stackers supported the can food drive already in place by the National Elementary Honor Society, which was managed by teacher Merry Herdt.
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Third Grade Field Study: Tellus Science Museum
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Technology Integration in Sixth Grade STEM classes
Our fabulous sixth grade STEM teachers may be relatively new to Amana, but they're already leading the way with their use of technology in the classroom.
"Ms. Korthof has the Mimio board where she doesn't have to use her computer to do everything," says Dana, one of Liz Korthof's students. "It makes the presentations so much better. We can actually go up there and do it." Fellow student Hadiyah agrees. "Ms. Korthof makes PowerPoints that have steps for everything we need, like for math. She has the steps for each type of problem. We get to go to the board and solve the problem on the board without having to constantly look at the paper. It's so much fun!"
Across the hallway, Tasha Roth uses similar strategies. "Mrs. Roth gives presentations that she's made herself. She really knows how to use the technology, and she uses it to teach math and science in a very descriptive way," says student Zaki. Loleeek agrees."Mrs. Roth uses technology very wisely. She doesn't just let us "play" online," he says.
Amana is proud of the way its teachers in all grade levels use STEM guidelines in parallel with Expeditionary Learning practices. Our students are excited and engaged with both technology and their curricular content, and we look forward to watching them grow as they continue their education with us. |
National Nutrition Month
During the month of November, students in PE class learned about the change in the food pyramid. The national campaign is designed to focus attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. The "food pyramid" is now called My Plate. Students are encouraged to take the challenge to fill half their plate with fruits and vegetables at every meal. The other half should be filled with 2/3 protein (meat, beans, nuts) and 1/3 carbs (grains) with a small amount of dairy on the side. For more information about the new nutrition guidelines, please visit the US Department of Agriculture's My Plate website.
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Volunteers Support Third Grade
Pictured above: Amana Parent Linda Afani and alumna Eman Afani assist Mrs. Passoff's third grade students in the technology lab. Much thanks to the mothers of Aida Yasin, Miriam Seeke, Malachi Chipp, and Stephany Velasco for their assistance as well. To see the students' final products, make sure to stop by Mrs. Passoff's classroom during Showcase!
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TAG Teachers to Attend Convention
TAG teachers Mary Jo Malowney and Karen Lowe will attend the Georgia Association for Gifted Children 2012 Convention. The Convention will be held from March 15-16, 2012 at Callaway Gardens. We look forward to their report of strategies and ideas to make learning even more engaging for all of our students. |
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ANNOUNCEMENTS / REMINDERS |
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CRCT Resources Available
We have Coach CRCT workbooks on sale at our Reception Desk. We offer each tested subject (Reading/ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies) for each tested grade level 3rd to 8th. One workbook is $20. Coach does not make its workbooks available to the general public. So, if we have run out of certain subjects or grade levels, Ms. Shibly will keep a waitlist and once at least 11 people sign up, we can purchase a bulk order. This is a good resource for parents who want their child to practice at home, or during longer holiday times.
Our teachers have also provided students with their OAS (Online Assessment System) CRCT practice test log-ins. Students in grades 3-8 are assigned practice tests in each subject area for either classwork or homework. However, parents can also use these log-ins to assign practice from a computer at home.
Our Expeditionary Learning model combines engaging content in the Social Studies and Science GPS with skills in Math, Reading, and Language Arts to prepare students for all types of assessments, including CRCT. Your students are preparing indirectly every day, and extra practice on the CRCT format gives them more confidence to do well on that high-stakes test too.
Please let me know if you have any questions and thank you for supporting your child's education.
Best regards,
Director of Curriculum and Instruction
jnaim@amanaacademy.org |
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Save Your Seat for Next Year
It's that time of year again. If your child is currently attending Amana Academy, please reserve their seat along with any siblings that will be new to the school.
Please visit our website home page and go to Quick Links & Forms, and click on the Recommitment Form prior to the lottery in order to save your child's seat for next year.
Also, please let your friends and family know that our open enrollment period for the 2012-13 school year will be the entire month of January. Please have them complete a pre-enrollment form, during the month of January, to be included in our lottery! We look forward to serving your children's academic needs!
P.S. Please attend our Middle School Open House on Sunday December 11 at 2:30-4:30 PM.
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Thank You!
If you ever have any questions or concerns, please contact your child's teacher  directly, or any one of our Administrative team members. If your question was not addressed, then feel free to contact our Governing Board. Amana's main number is (678) 624-0989 and you may also find email contact information for all of our staff by visiting the Amana Staff Directory. On behalf of the Governing Board, the Amana faculty and staff, and the school Administration, thank you for entrusting your child's education to us. With your continued support, we will continue to mold the very best and brightest global leaders within our community! |
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